Rollin’
on a River:
Local poker player Chris Wehlen (a.k.a.
‘The Riverboat Hustler’) rips
up record tournament field at WSOPC New
Orleans’ first event
Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the
world, and Los Angeles likes to bill itself
as the poker capital of the world. But,
the popular card game that’s now played
by more than one hundred million people
worldwide actually has its roots on paddlewheel
steamboats that ran up and down the Mississippi
River during the early 1800s. If the birthplace
of poker is in the Deep South, then New
Orleans is most certainly the cradle.
Now
two-hundred years later, it’s fitting
that the world’s longest-running and most
prestigious poker tournament would return
to the city where it all began. New Orleans
hosted the final stop on the 2005 World
Series of Poker Circuit, which runs May
18-28. The first event -- a $200 buy-in
no-limit hold’em tournament -- attracted
a record number of entries for any WSOPC
event held this year. A whopping 833 players
filled Harrah’s New Orleans to full capacity.
Given the high level of interest and intense
pubic demand, it’s fair to say that this
event could easily have sold over 1,000
seats.
After
a long first day, the ten finalists returned
for the final table on Day Two. Proving
the incredible popularity of the game
amongst younger players, of the ten finalists
-- six were in their 20s. But the chip
leader was one of the elders, by contemporary
standards. Don Mullis, age 41, was making
his 5th final table appearance in just
seven event starts, dating back to the
WSOPC Lake Tahoe tournament, which was
completed earlier this month. No other
tournament player is hotter right now
than the good-natured poker traveler from
North Carolina. Mullis arrived on the
second day with a huge chip stack – 192,000.
As for his rivals, only Chris Wehlen,
a 22-year-old New Orleans local, had over
100,000 in chips. The rest of the pack
would have to play great poker, or get
very lucky to dislodge the two chip leaders.
As it turned out -- as many expected --
Mullis and Wehlen would eventually go
heads-up and compete for the championship.
Seventy-two
places were paid. With $161,602 in prize
money at stake, players were eliminated
as follows:
10th
Place – Only 15 minutes into play,
Don Mullis hit a quick and easy parlay.
Two players were eliminated when Mullis
flopped top set. Dennis Perry, who was
very short-stacked, missed his draw and
ended up going out in 10th place. Perry,
who made it to the final table of the
championship at Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego)
had a short miserable stay at the final
table. It was pouring down rain outside
and Perry might as well have stayed in
the parking lot without an umbrella. The
retired iron worker from Kentucky melted
down with $1,780 in prize money.
9th
Place – R.L. Thomas went out on
very the same hand. He missed both a straight
and flush draw. Thomas, a 47-year-old
poker pro who lives in Pensacola, FL,
had to settle for 9th place, worth $3,230.
8th Place –
Only minutes later, Tony Malcien dropped
a neutron bomb on what remained of the
final table. Incredibly, he knocked out
three players on one hand when his K-Q
caught two pair. After the cards and chips
were shuffled and stacked and the devastation
was over, there were only five players
remaining, and it looked as though the
final table might end in record time.
Ross Romash, age 29, from Golden Beach,
FL was short-stacked and went out with
A-Q on the killer hand. Romash, a real
estate developer who has previously appeared
at final tables at the Hard Rock Casino
(Hollywood, FL), collected $4,850 for
8th place.
7th
Place – It’s rare that a boyfriend-girlfriend
tandem plays together in a poker tournament.
It’s rarer still when both players make
it to the final table. That’s exactly
what happened with Ross Romash (8th) and
Vanessa Rousso -- who ended up going out
in 7th place. Rousso, a 22-year-old law
student at the University of Miami, had
more chips at the start of the final hand
and therefore took the higher payout,
worth $6,465.
6th
Place – Seth Laroche ended up in
6th place. He had top pair with kings
but lost to Malcien’s two-pair. Laroche,
a 21-year-old college student from Houston,
received $8,080 for a fin effort. At that
point, Don Mullis maintained the chip
lead, but Malcien and Wehlen were close
behind.
5th
Place – Matt Overstreet took a
few beats and was getting low on chips.
He made his final stand with Q-J and took
another terrible beat when Don Mullis
faded Overstreet’s ‘all in’ raise with
J-9, which spiked a nine on the river,
sticking a fork in Overstreet. Fifth-place
prize money ($9,695) was paid to Overstreet,
yet another 22-year-old up and coming
poker player.
4th Place –
Alex Todd went out next when he was forced
to commit his final chips with K-9, which
lost to Chris Wehlen’s A-K. It was an
interesting final hand, because it jolted
Wehlen close to Mullis in the chip count.
Mullis had A-Q. Wehlen had A-K. Todd was
in trouble with a dominated hand – K-9
and needed plenty of help. The final board
showed 10-4-4-5-Q. A queen on the river
had apparently given Mullis the huge pot.
But, three spades matched Wehlen’s A-K
of spades, and the spade flush put Wehlen
neck-a-neck in chips. Meanwhile, Todd
– an engineer from nearby Kenar – ended
up derailed with $11,310 for 4th place.
3rd
Place – After an initial burst
during the first hour, Tony Malcien was
unable to generate any momentum at the
final table. Like a comet, he shined early
then fizzled out like cosmic dust. He
was slowly grinded down and decided to
make his final stand on a semi-bluff.
Malcien was dealt 4-5 in the blind and
when the flop came A-6-5, he pushed his
final chips forward on the outside-straight
draw. Chris Wehlen was thrilled to make
the call with two pair, 7s and 6s. A seven
on the turn gave Wehlen a full house and
left Malcien drawing dead. Malcien, who
owns a car shipping company in Wisconsin,
collected $12,930 for 3rd place.
The heads-up duel between Don Mullis and
Chris Wehlen began with the early chip-leader
holding a slight 478,000 to 465,000 chip
advantage. It took about 10 minutes for
Wehlen to seize the chip lead, and then
another ten hands or so to end the tournament
on the final hand.
Wehlen
was dealt 9-9 and raised up to 50,000.
Mullis had A-8 and moved over the top
for 200,000 total in chips. Wehlen thought
for a moment, then moved ‘all in.’ Mullis
was pot committed at this point and made
a crying call. Mullis did not like what
he saw. The pocket nines were the favorite.
Mullis cried out desperately for an ace,
but the prayer to the poker gods fell
on deaf ears. All blanks fell. The final
board showed K-J-6-5-4. Wehlen’s pocket
nines was the winner, and Mullis was left
to ponder what might have been.
The
final table was played at a lightning
fast pace, clocking in at 2 hours and
20 minutes. Afterward, it was obvious
that the $22,685 in 2nd-place prize money
was utterly meaningless to Mullis. The
Event #1 runner up has been traveling
around the country in a new motorhome,
during the last six months – mostly playing
poker. He says he plays for the thrill
of competing and winning more than for
the money. To his credit, Mullis now has
a 9th, 7th, 9th, 1st, and 2nd place finishes
in the last seven WSOPC events he has
entered. That record is unequalled by
anyone.
The
winner was Chris Wehlen, a 22-year-old
college student who is now studying to
become a building contractor. He was cheered
on by a large gathering of friends and
family who celebrated the victory. Wehlen
says that he plays in many local poker
games here in New Orleans -- mostly in
bars, private games, and casinos. He prefers
no-limit cash games, although he also
admits that tournaments have become a
target. Wehlen also plays poker online.
His nickname, appropriately enough is
– ‘The Riverboat Hustler.’
Which
now begs the question – is Wehlen a direct
descendent of Maverick or the Commodore?
-- by Nolan Dalla
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